Quigley South Brothers Are A Tough Pair To Beat

``We first ran against each other last Dec. 14 at the University of Chicago.``

``No, no,`` interrupts brother Gerald. ``It was Dec. 12.``

``That`s right,`` says brother Harold. ``The 12th. I won in 51 even, and Gerald was second at 51.4.``

``It was 51.2, not 4,`` corrects Gerald.

``Right again,`` says Harold. ``But no matter, my feelings were the same. It felt powerful to win the race and to have my brother right next to me.``

Who`s faster?

``Sometimes I win by a couple of tenths,`` says Harold.

``And I`ve beaten him by as much,`` claims Gerald.

That`s the way it goes when Quigley South seniors Harold and Gerald McCadd get together. If it`s not one brother, it`s the other, and seldom can you split them at the finish line, let alone beat either.

The seniors are the backbone of South`s track team, coached by Rev. Michael Ivers.

Harold is three minutes older than Gerald, ``but I can`t tell you who is faster,`` says Father Ivers. ``I know they`re both pretty good.``

Saturday at Downers Grove South, Quigley South finished seventh in an eight-team field in the Mustang Invitational, but Gerald led off the winning 1,600-meter relay with a strong 48.8-second leg and Harold brought home the team`s lone first place, anchoring in 48.9 as South won in 3:22.5.

Even Father Ivers was impressed. That relay came less than an hour after Gerald was second in 49.8 and Harold was fourth in 49.9 in the open 400.

``That`s impressive,`` said the coach. ``They ran strong 400s back to back and each improved on his time by one full second.``

Earlier in the day, both ran 800-meter legs on the third-place 3,200-meter relay.

Improvement is what the McCadds want. Last year, the brothers helped Quigley South to sixth place in the state Class AA 1,600 relay finals. And both ran on the 800 relay team that finished third behind Thornton and Thornwood in the sectionals.

``We failed to qualify for the finals by a tenth of a second, and wouldn`t you know it, Thornton and Thornwood were 1-2 in the state finals,``

said Father Ivers.

There are differences in outlook between the McCadd brothers. Harold likes the 400 but enjoys the challenge of the 800, too. ``I like it because to run it, you have to be both strong and fast,`` he says.

Gerald, meanwhile, prefers to stay in the 400.

Neither brother had experience in track until he entered Quigley South.

``I didn`t know anything about track until I met coach Ivers,`` says Gerald. ``He told us he would guarantee we would become Division I runners if we went into track,`` says Harold.

Gerald had to quit track during his freshman season because he was growing so quickly his muscles were pulling away from his bones. Harold didn`t think seriously about track until the end of his sophomore season. Last year, Gerald`s best outdoor time in the 400 was 50.0; Harold had a 50.3.

The brothers are attracting attention from colleges, and not just because of their athletic skills. Both sport overall grade-point averages of nearly 2.8. This year, Harold has a 3.2 average and Gerald, a 3.7.

``And we both are interested in psychology,`` says Gerald.

``Yes. We both do well in the psychology courses at Quigley South,`` says Harold.

``I`d like to go into clinical psychology,`` says Gerald.

``I`m leaning towards research and statistics in the field,`` says Harold.